This is the recipe of the month to go out in our September food co-op newsletter. It is delicious and such a wonderful summer dish. I only make it when the garden is productive because store-bought veggies just don't do it justice. Use whatever is in your garden that might be compatible; no one ever "sticks to the recipe." It is better the next day after when all the flavors have had a chance to blend (and with the sweetest tomatoes as well!).
Enjoy.
- - RECIPE OF THE MONTH, BULGUR TABOULI - - -
Bulgur wheat is one of the original convenience foods: a fast-cooking grain prepared by partially boiling (parboiling) durum wheat, which is then dried and debranned. Valued for its high protein content, durum or , "hard" wheat is a prized crop of the inland northwest. Here it is used as the main ingredient in a variation on a traditional Lebanese salad, whose only non-local ingredients are lemon and olive oil. Take advantage of our late summer garlic, mint, parsley and tomatoes!
Ingredients ? Bulgur wheat (approximately one cup per serving) ? Olive oil ? Lemon juice (fresh or bottled) ? Minced garlic (chopped very fine) ? Minced parsley (chopped very fine) ? Minced mint (chopped very fine) ? Cubed tomatoes (1/2" pieces or to taste) ? Other vegetables such as green onions, or diced cucumbers are optional. Instructions 1 Measure out bulgur wheat by volume 2 Boil an equal amount of water by volume 3 Remove water from heat and add bulgur, then let sit thirty minutes 4 Mix equal parts olive oil, lemon juice and garlic 5 After thirty minutes, mix these thoroughly into bulgur 6 Let sit and chill overnight to "set" flavors 7 Add fresh herbs and tomatoes to fluffed bulgur thirty minutes before serving 8 Leftover tabouli, like good stew, is more flavorful after a day or two
Traditional Lebanese tabouli is much more of a "green" and herb-based dish, but this variant makes for a cooling, late-summer salad or entree (in sufficient quantity). Taking very little prep time and keeping well for days, it can easily become a low-hassle, hot-weather favorite.
- - - HERB OF THE MONTH, PARSLEY - - -
Parsley is a common herb, both fresh and dried. Notoriously difficult to start from seed, planted parsley starts grow quickly, making it a popular herb in Clark County kitchen gardens. Parsley leaves can be harvested with scissors as needed for soups, salads and as a garnish. Available in many varieties, a flat-leafed version is often used in Asian cuisine, with the familiar curly-leafed "Italian" parsley traditional in the west because it was easy to distinguish from edible chervil or poisonous conium. As a garnish, parsley can also double as an after-dinner breath mint. A cousin to the carrot, parsley is also one of a few common herbs whose seeds are also used as a spice, with the roots of some varieties eaten in eastern Europe. Pinching the flowers off of biennial parsley may retard this biennial's natural life cycle for a year, and entire plants can be cut and hung indoors from their stems to dry for winter use.